title: Are computed tomography and densitometric measurements useful in otosclerosis with mixed hearing loss? A retrospective clinical study.
abstract: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between extent of otosclerotic foci and audiological findings in otosclerotic patients with mixed hearing loss using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and also to measure the density of bony labyrinth in otosclerotic patients and compared with control group. This was a retrospective study. Twenty-five patients with clinical otosclerosis and mixed hearing loss were included in the study. The average threshold of air-bone conductions (AC, BC) within the 0.5-4 kHz frequency range, and average air bone gap (ABG) were calculated. Eleven patients with normal HRCT who received cochlear implant were included in the study as the control group. The lesions in HRCT were staged according to their extension. Eight different points of the otic capsule in each patient were measured using HRCT. Fifty ears total, from 25 patients, had bilateral otosclerosis. The mean AC of all the ears was 63 dB, mean BC was 35.2 dB, and mean ABG was 27.8 dB. HRCT staging indicated 22 ears had Grade 1, 21 ears had Grade 2, and 7 ears had Grade 3 lesions. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean AC, BC of ears with Grade 1 and Grade 2 when compared with the mean AC, BC of ears with Grade 3. When comparing the densitometric measurements of fissula ante fenestram localizations, a statistically significant difference was observed. HRCT examination and densitometric measurements in otosclerotic patients with mixed hearing loss presented significant results. We were unable to show a significant relationship between early stage and hearing thresholds, but there was a significant relationship in advanced stage. Densitometric measurements may provide significant results for otosclerosis, particularly for the FAF region when comparing with control group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey, drkutlar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kutlar
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koyuncu
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elmali
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Basar
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atmaca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001844:Bone Conduction; D003051:Cochlea / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research; D003720:Densitometry / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D062072:Patient Acuity; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods